If Only You Knew
by WolfGirl1191991
Summary: If only you knew why I left. If Only she knew that he loved her. If only he knew what it meant. If only they understand that he made her happy. if only everything had been different. Five years Cindy left without a word, now their life's about to change
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Okay this is my first Jimmy Neutron fan fiction and honestly, this was originally written to be a normal fiction, rewritten and altered to suit them.**

**I will accept critiques and if it's horrible, tell me but tell me why it's horrible…I won't accept pointless flames that don't tell me anything except it sucks. They will be ignored. Thank you and I hope you enjoy! **

_**Prolouge**_

"_First the blue caps will be thrown, and then soon will come the black." A girl's voice rang throughout the high school gym. She paused, her blonde hair falling into her eye. There were eight hundred eyes of her peers looking directly at her and nowhere else; the words she had memorized didn't seem to fit right anymore. The pause was beginning to become an uncomfortable silence. She had to say something. "It seems like we've been through it all." Where did that come from? She didn't know but she went with it anyways. "But we haven't, the honest truth is that there's still a whole world out there for us to see. There's a life time of tragedies and disappointments but there's also that same lifetime of happiness and treasures awaiting us." She forced a smile and stood up straight. "This is just the first stepping stone in our lives, Class of 2009, we did it!" Once again she looked around the room at all the people she may never see again, and all the ones who didn't know it. _

_**Chapter One**_

**Five years later**

At age twenty three Cynthia Vortex was a fresh young law attorney out of Harvard University but now she was fast asleep at her desk. Her cheeks rubbed against her keyboard as her arms attempted to give a pillow. Papers had been pushed off the sides of the desk and what had not been pushed off was scattered and piled around the laptop.

She jumped awake at a loud ringing. Slowly she looked around to where it was coming from. More papers were thrown off the desk only for her to discover the cell phone in her pocket. She opened it quickly and in the most solid voice she could give "Cynthia Vortex, Attorney at Law." "Cin? Where are you?" She furrowed her eye brows. "Mason?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. "Yea baby, where are you? I've been trying to call you all night." _All night but it's only…_that's when she saw the clock changing to 3:57 am. _Great…_ "Baby? Are you there?" She could hear on the other end."Yea, I'm at the office, I'll be home soon." She said and hung up the phone not waiting for a goodbye. She stood up and picked up the brief case next to her desk. Picking up each piece of paper she dreaded having to reorganize the two cases over again. She unplugged her laptop and shut down, placing it in its bag.

Stepping outside the streets was filled with cars and people walking. She'd been here a year, why hadn't she gotten used to people being out and about at four in the morning? Calling a taxi she slipped inside the backseat. "Stone Street Apartments" She told the driver. After a half hour of driving she was finally standing outside her apartment. Opening the door, she suddenly had a man's arms around her. He was tall, his black hair was cut short, his chest and stomach were slightly toned and he had the brightest blue eyes she'd ever seen. "You need to stop falling asleep at your desk baby, you know I worry." He said, and she could tell he hadn't slept very much last night.

Cindy smiled at him sweetie and put her things down by the door and closed it behind her. "I'll make it up to you, I promise" She whispered, kissing him. "But you're going to have to wait until tonight." He let out a laugh as he watched her walk all the day to bedroom before running behind her.

Libby ran around the kitchen. There were waffles on the iron beginning to burn; bacon on the skillet getting too crispy, the coffee didn't taste right. "Why isn't she answering the phone?" She screamed and Sheen raised an eyebrow at her. "Who?" She stared at him for a second. "Abbey, who else? And why isn't Jimmy awake?" She let out a frustrated "Augh" sound. "I'll go get him up." He said and headed towards his roommate's room.

James woke to the light shinning in his windows; the light glanced across the room. He sat up and he could feel something else move beside him. He looked down and smiled at the brunette repositioning herself against him in her sleep. "Abbey." He whispered and there was a sudden knock on the door before it opened. A Hispanic boy came walking in, one hand covering his eyes. "Is it safe to look?" He said a little too loudly and Abbey sat up straight, scared awake. "Sheen!" James gave him a look and sheen uncovered his face. He laughed slightly. "I knew I heard noises last night." He said Abbey, now aware she was naked, pulled the blankets up to her chest. "I doubt your fiancé would like to hear you've been looking at other women." She said with a smirk and his smile disappeared.

"Anyways." He started again, his eyes adverting around the room. "It's almost noon you two, time to get up and get ready Libby's parents are coming over in an hour for Lunch-fast!" Abbey and James look at each other for a second. "You mean brunch?" He asked. "Yea that and Libby's going crazy." And with that he closed the door and left. James turned towards Abbey with a wicked smile. "Now that's he's gone…" She giggled and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You heard him, we have an hour to get dress _and _help cook." She pulled away from him and stepped out of the bed. "However, I do have to take a shower…" She said and he watched her but it wasn't until he noticed she'd left the door open that he understood.

Sheen walked back into the kitchen. "I found her." He said, laughing slightly. "Who?" Libby paused for a second. "Abbey?" Sheen smiled widely. "Yup, in bed with Jimmy." She rolled her eyes and relaxed slightly. "I'll rip her a new one for that later, right now she needs to help me save my brunch." She looked at the clock and then at herself. She was wearing her robe, her hair was a mess. "I still need to get ready. My parents are never late." Sheen walked over to her and put his hands on her should. "Take a deep breath baby." He said and after he did so he kissed her. "You go get ready. We'll take care of the rest." Libby nodded and walked into Sheen's room.

By the time Abbey and James walked into the kitchen, Sheen had almost cleaned up what wasn't needed, scrapped the brunt waffle off and saved the bacon. Abbey grabbed the bowl with waffle mix and poured it onto the iron. "Why are we having the brunch here?" she asked. James came up behind her. "Libby's parents still don't approve of Sheen." He whispered in her ear. "She wants to show them he's been able to support himself and will be able to support her." Abbey nodded. "Then we better get this brunch perfect."

Cindy sat back at her desk. The papers had finally been organized into two different stacks and right now she up on her laptop trying to find out the best way to put her closing argument. _It'll be over soon.._She told herself. The man had been accusing of stabbing his wife and kids. The two young children were in the hospital, with no memory of what happened, that or they were too scared to talk. The wife however had been the one to point the finger at him, saying when she'd told him she was leaving him and taking the children. This was only her third case and it was her first one this intense. Was it wrong to say she wasn't sure weither her client was telling her the truth or not? If he belonged in jail or not? And yet she still tried to help the man keeps his freedom? She sighed. She needed a break. It was a little past noon, she'd go home for lunch and surprise Mason.

When she arrived at the door the mail was already stuffed half way under the door. She unlocked the door and grabbed the mail. "Junk mail, junk mail, magazine, junk mail..oh what's this?" There was a letters addressed just to her.

_Cynthia Vortex_

_It's been five long years since the class of 2009 threw their caps!_

_Come celebrate with us, at RetroVille High School, June 18th at 5pm!_

_Uh huh, like I'm going to that. I left and didn't tell anyone. _She put the letter down on the counter and looked around for Mason. He wasn't in his office, he wasn't in the living room or kitchen. She opened the door to the bedroom and peaked in. There was Mason, but he wasn't alone. Cindy gasped at the sight of Mason naked on top of another girl.

Mason turned his head towards the noise and seeing Cindy run the other way he jumped off the bed. "Cin, baby." He started. "It was nothing." She glared at him. "Don't baby me, if it was nothing, why do it at all?" "Because you're never home! You're obsessed with your work! I accepted that at first, told you to share the office with me but no!" His voice had begun to raise, apparently this had been bottled up for a while. "You wanted to keep your work life and your home life separate! Well guess what? You have no home life! I don't even feel as if we're in a relationship anymore?" Cindy face was no longer mad but hurt, because she knew this was the truth. He softened. "I'm sorry baby." He said but cindy didn't look at him. "Just go Mason." She waved him off. "Get your stuff and go." Mason nodded.

A few hours later Mason was gone. He had agreed to stay with a friend until everything was worked out on what would happen next. Cindy sighed as she leaned against the kitchen counter. "I've got to go on a vacation." She said to herself and looked down at the pile of mail and the open letter of her high school's five year reunion. She picked it up. "I guess I could go"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Here I am again and thank you for all the reviews! I do have a question for all of you though, how do you like the title? I am considering changing it but am having trouble finding a new one. Any ideas? **

_**Chapter Two**_

As expected, parents of Liberty Folfax arrived at one o clock on the dot but by the time they arrived the kitchen was not a mess, but clean, the table was not cluttered but set for six everyone was dressed and the aroma of cooked bacon, eggs and waffles filled the air. Now at three o clock her parents stood by the door, her father still giving sheen the same look of death he'd been giving throughout meal. "it was so nice to see you again Mrs. Folfax." He forced a smile. "Mr. Folfax." Mr. Folfax nodded at him. "Let's go dear." Mr. Folfax wrapped his arm around his wife. "Bye sweetie, we'll see you soon." Mrs. Folfax told her daughter and they closed the door behind them. Sheen let out a breath as soon as the door closed. "At least that's over. " He said and sat on the couch, pulling Libby after him. "How do you think I did?" Libby laughed. "You behaved yourself like you said you would." She said kissing him.

Cynthia Vortex stood in court, her head held high as the Jury re-entered their box. "Has the jury reached their verdict? " The Judge's strong voice filled the room. An elderly man stood in his seat in the jury box. He held a piece of paper in his hands, the paper that had the answer to either this man beside her would go to jail or walk free from a crime he may or may not have committed. She looked down at her client. He was not much older than her but at this moment he looked as if he could've been her father's age at fifty six. He looked broken; he hadn't been able to make bail and had spent the last two weeks at the bottom of the food chain in jail. These five seconds seemed like years to her, she couldn't imagine what they seemed to him. Finally the man began to speak. "We render the defendant, Mitch Ablem, not guilty of attempted murder on all charges."

She let out a sigh of relief and the man beside her smiled. The jury was dismissed and she shook the prosecutor's hand. "Nice job." The woman said. "For a newbie." Cynthia smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment." She said and turned to walk her client out of the court room. At the top of the court steps they bid their goodbyes. "Hopefully you won't need me again." She said, pulling a card out of her pocket. "But just in case you're in trouble, here you go. " He nodded. "Thanks, might come in handy, afterall, they never closed the case on who hurt my family." She frowned. "What'd you going to do?" And they both knew what she was asking. "Take care of my daughters and get on with my life." He looked at the ground. "I have a feeling my wife won't be around much." She nodded and started down the steps. Cameras flashed at the bottom as the journalist made their way through. "Just be careful not to say too much to the papers." She warned

Abbey sat on Jame's bed, she could see the sun beginning to go down in the window as she felt him crawl across the bed behind her. His hands were on her shoulders, pulling her long hair back. "James?" She asked, turning to look at him. "What'd you going to do after Libby and Sheen get married?" He raised an eyebrow. "What'd you mean?" She smiled. "Well…after they get married, you'll be down a roommate…and so will I." He knew this was coming; after all, they'd known each other since he'd started college and been together for almost two years. He'd never thought it'd get this serious. "Uh…um…" The door opened and there was Sheen, just in time. "Am I interrupting you two love birds again?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. James jumped up. "No, not at all come right in." And he could abbey sigh lightly behind him.

Cynthia walked into her office, dropping her brief case by the door. Looking around the messy room, It was now that she realized with Mason gone she no longer had the need for it. Her lease ended at in a few weeks and she had yet to renew it anyways. She bent down over the desk and began to dump out the drawers into an empty box. She watched all the papers fall down cluttered atop one another. _I should probably organize all this all one day..._she thought to herself sadly. Then there was the sound of something hard hitting the inside of the box, followed by breaking glass. Carefully, she moves through the papers until her fingers sound something that didn't belong. Picking it up she realized it was a picture frame. An old photo of rested inside behind the partly shattered glass.

In the photo were five teenagers in their senior year of high school, all wearing swimsuits. A lanky Hispanic boy had his arm wrapped a dark skinned girl, her braided cornrows framing her face. Next to them was a red head with freckles on his cheeks, he was chubby but very much like a big teddy bear. She found herself smiling. That's when her eyes reached the last two people in the photo. A tall skinny boy had his arm around a blonde girl's waist. Her hair reached her shoulders and bangs fell into her face but her sparking emerald eyes managed to peek through. She looked happily embarrassed. _I remember this girl. _She thought.

_The sun was scorching hot that day and she feared the risk of getting burnt but he just laughed at her. "You worry too much." He said, wrapping his hand around her shoulders. "With 75 SPF sunscreen the chances of you getting burnt are 10.34 out of 100." He calculated. She glared at him but there was a smile on her face. "Cindy! Can we start enjoying ourselves now?" A voice called behind them and she turned to see her best childhood friend Libby standing there. "Yea, I'm coming." She smelled the ocean breeze coming in onto the dock. "Wait." She stopped and pulled a camera out of her bag. "Let's take a picture." She stopped a friendly passerby and they all stood at the end of the dock. Sheen had his arm around Libby's shoulders, Carol smiled happily, and Jimmy with his arm around her waist. She had thought this moment could last forever, but they would make more memories after all, they had the rest of their lives. _

"I was so happy back then." Her smile left her face. "Why'd it have to end up this way?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N-Hello there! Sorry for the long term of absence, classes have started and homework and work has taken up my time, but I promise I'll make sure to make time for writing too from now on! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's kind of a quickie but they'll be getting longer soon.

Chapter Three

Abbey lay in bed; her eyes still closed and still mostly asleep, until she began to register the slightly buzzing noise in the background. Opening her eyes, she looked to where the noise was coming from. On her bedside table, her cell phone glowered angrily as it vibrated against the table. Picking it up, she flipped the screen to read "Eleven Thirty: Algebra!" Her eyes shot open wide, suddenly very awake. "I'm going to be late!" She screamed and threw the covers over her and running for the closet.

The old withered man laid in his as the red headed boy stood beside it. He seemed to wonder if the man had finished saying all he had to say or if he just needed a little more energy to ask this one last thing. The elderly man gasped and a scratchy light voice came out. "I have nothing," he took another gasp "more to say to you boy." The redhead nodded. "I was afraid of that." He said to the man. The man seemed to scowl and gasped once again. "My 'Pa always did like you." He struggled for the last words. "I can see why. Now go!" The boy nodded one more time and left the room as the man began to cough and young woman came in to assist him.

Cynthia Vortex sat in her living room staring at this month's bills. She sighed. "How am I going to afford these now?" Mason had always taken care of half the finances, sometimes more when needed. "Seems I'm going to have to put in for a new roommate," She whispered to herself quietly. "But there's only one bedroom." Realizing the conflict, she threw the papers across the room in frustration and they flew apart landing in various areas. By time her fit was through there were small tears threatening in her eyes. She sighed and there the invitation still sat on table. _Should I really go? _She wondered. "Might as well, seeing as I'm not going to be able to live here much longer anyways." She picked up the phone and dialed a number.

Abbey stepped out of the car. She was a half hour late to class and it wasn't until she was walking out the door that she realized she hadn't gotten around to doing the assigned homework. She walked up the steps, not having time to wait for the elevator, and down the hall stopping right outside her classroom. She could see in the window, her classmates writing notes while some sat in the back and chatted about something the teacher may or may not have brought up. They all seemed to be doing fine, they were all on time and she was barely slipping by. The class would be over soon, why interrupt now? She turned and went back down the stairs the way she came.

Jimmy sat at the kitchen table, leaning on his elbows and his fists in his hair. "I just don't know what to do." He said. Sheen shook his head. "Just _do_ it, dang Jimmy come on!" Jimmy dropped his arms so they cross and lifted his head. "Haven't you been listening?" He asked. "You think Abbey's going to expect you to ask her to move in after Libby and I get married. You don't want to move in with Abbey but you don't want her to dump you or freak out of whatever and blah…blah…blah." Sheen responded, giving the just of what jimmy had explained. "Just do it Jimmy." He repeated. "You two are ready for the next step in life." Jimmy shook his head. "But what if I'm not? I mean, yea we've been going steady for a while now but what if as soon as she moves she realizes she doesn't want to anymore …what if I go too far and we get married and she turns out not to be the right girl." Sheen stared at him. "Then who is?" And as soon as he said it, they both knew who jimmy was thinking about.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Cynthia Vortex found herself sitting in the airport terminal at six thirty am a week later. There was a small family of four with two young children, maybe two or three years old, sitting next to her and a man who looked to be in his forties or fifties sitting across from her. The rest of the terminal seemed to be almost deserted, with the occasional couple or business man or woman sitting. One of the young children yawned and leaned against their mother, eyes beginning to close. Cindy sighed and looked away, waiting for the plane to be called to start boarding.

Abbey sat at her computer, staring at the screen. She had yet to write her assigned English essay on advertisement analysis. She hadn't even chosen her topic yet. She bent down and leaned her head on the keyboard allowing the word document to be filled with an ongoing b. She could feel tears forming behind her eyes, she hadn't attending an algebra class in over a week, she didn't know what to write for English classes, psychology seemed to getting ahead of her, the only class she did enjoy and was any good at was the culinary ones. _Maybe I should drop out?_ But then what would she tell Jimmy_? I failed, I'm sorry. I'm not as smart as everyone else in the world. _She sighed again, she didn't belong in college. She knew this to begin with but it was her only choice. _I thought I could get used to it but three years later….I need a break._

Abbey walked into kitchen to find Libby sitting at the table surrounded by Bridal magazines and Sheen on the other side twirling his thumbs and avoiding Libby's gaze. She laughed at his expression, a mixture of cluelessness and anxious to get out of there, and maybe even a slight speak of fear thrown in. She sat down. "You need any help?" Libby looked up. "If you have the time, I'd be glad to have you." She looked at sheen. "He seems afraid to answer any questions wrong, so he doesn't answer." Sheen looked up. "Last time I answered, you threw stuff at me!" Abbey raised an eyebrow at Libby. "You said Ultra Lord should be the theme." "And Ultra Lord is?" Sheen's eyes widened at Abbey's question and he stood up and left, astounded that anyone could possibly not know. "It's a show he was obsessed with when we were younger, apparently it's still there…maybe a little more mild though." Abbey laughed. "Wanting it to be your wedding theme is mild?" Libby shook her head. "Unfortunately, yes."

The pickup truck shuddered as he pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. He smiled at the home he hadn't seen in over two years. A shapely woman with slick brown hair and big glasses walked out the door quickly and he stepped out of the car. "Carl? Is that you?" Her voice was nasally but it's the voice he'd always known to be his mom's. "Hey mom." He answered and opened his arms to hug her. He realized he was now taller than her by a great amount, maybe six inches. "My baby!" She cried and then took a step back, placing one hand on her hip and another pointing at him accusingly. "You should call more! I don't hear from you for months at a time, and when I do-"he cut her off. "I will, I promise, and not because I need to know the family's medical history." She smiled at him. "You better, I mean I'm fine but your father worries himself sick." He laughed; she was obviously the one worrying. "I will."

Jimmy sat over a microscope at the lab at work. After earning his degree in bio-engineering, he had landed a job helping with genetic studies right at the school. He looked up at the three potted plants by the window. They had recently gone from small green sprout like left to a full grown stem. Soon the buds would grow and he would note down the time between each one. If the experiment worked, at least one of the lilies would pop out a blue color with wider petals and white and purple speckles. This was not the only thing; the scent would be of both lilacs and lilies. He would call it the Lilac Lily, a name short simple and sweet and move on to the next experiment, maybe something this time it'd be something a little more useful to humanity. If it didn't, he'd try again. He sighed and looked back to his microscope. The cells taken from a strawberry seed were moving beneath it.

Cindy knew as soon as her plane landed she would have exactly 25 minutes to get across the terminal, go to the bathroom, get a bite to eat and back across the terminal before her plane would take off. What she did not know was that her plane in New York was going to be an hour and half late due to difficulties in the plane. When the plane finally landed in Charlotte, North Carolina her connecting flight had taken off at nine thirty five, over an hour ago. She was no longer in a hurry and as she saw a few couples get turned away for tickets to their reconnecting flight due to lack of seats, she realized she might be spending the night here.

After twenty minutes of standing in line and three minutes of listening to the curly haired brunette to finish her woman typing, Cindy got her answers. "It seems we are able to transfer your flight for free but the next available seat to Texas isn't until eleven fifty tonight." The woman looked up from her computer and smiled warily at Cindy. "I could book the flight for you but in case a seat becomes available, would you like to be put on our waiting list?" Cindy sighed and calculated the worst case scenario in her head. _If the flight took off at midnight, plus a three hour flight, another forty five minutes getting the luggage claim going and waiting for her bags, then calling a taxi and getting to the hotel_…_shoot the hotel, got to call the hotel…_ "Um…miss?" The woman pulled her back from her thoughts. "Sure." Cindy waved her off. "Go ahead."

"How about this one?" Abbey asked pointing to a picture in a magazine. There was a large bouquet of bright purple orchids, dark red double-late tulips and warm purple specked stargazer lilies. The bouquet was finished off with long summer green leaves around the sides to hold it in place and then some peeking out from the middle. "I like this one, how about you?" Libby looked over to the picture Abbey was pointing to and her eyes widened and a smile broke onto her face. "It's beautiful, I mean they're all beautiful." Abbey nodded. "Yes but with the purples and reds I was thinking this one would be perfect for the bridal bouquet." "Yes, now if onl\

'y we could find matching bridesmaid ones." Abbey smiled again. "Easy, just tell the florist to minimize this one to about six flowers each max, with fewer leaves." Libby nodded slowly. "I like it."

Carl walked down the stairs at nine thirty the next morning. He had woken up three hours ago at six am but couldn't go back to sleep. He'd grown so used to waking up at five thirty every morning but he could hear someone was already downstairs banging dishes in the kitchen. As he walked in, fully dressed in dark jeans and a plaid blue shirt, he saw his mom cracking eggs into a measuring cup while butter melted on a saucepan. He smiled when he saw she still wore the apron that he'd made her for Christmas when he was ten. "Oh Carl!" She said as she noticed he was there. "How many eggs would you like?" "Three please." He said and stuck a piece of bread in the toaster oven. "And bacon?" She asked. "Two strips should be good." She laughed. "At least you're still the big eater you've always been." And he laughed with her.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hello! Thanks to a friend I finally renamed the story, hope you like it. And If you're enjoying If **_**Only You Knew**_** I'm creating a miniseries **_**Times of Our Lives**_** which will consist of every summer leading up to the graduation of this story. **

**Thanks for reading, please review and I'll continue writing! **

**Chapter Five**

**Summer of 2004**

_ Every student had stepped off the bus one by one and gathered in a group before the big old white farmhouse. The three hour ride from Texas to Louisiana had felt like seven to him but now it didn't matter. He could see his chaperone shake hands with an elderly man that had graying brown hair and was wearing overalls. They mumbled different things as the younger man next to him joined in. This man could've been in his forties, with red brown hair and flushed skin but this conversation did not hold his attention long. _

_As soon as he caught the young girl on the porch out of the corner of his eye, she was all he wanted to see. Her sky blue dress was ruffled underneath the skirt that reached her ankles; white lace graced each hemline. He noticed her small white shoes buckled and her dark hair was done up and tied back with a big white ribbon bow. Her skin was fair and freckled around her nose. She smiled at him and Carl felt his cheeks burn. It didn't last long though, as soon as the younger man spoke to her, her smile vanished. She nodded her head "Yes Pa." Her voice was quiet and gentle and soaked with a southern culture. Then she turned and walked back into the house. _

Abigail stood leaning against the red brick building. It was summer but the morning air had a slight chill to it when the wind blew by. She looked at the cigarette her in her hand and took a drag, breathing in the taste of tobacco and letting out the smoke. She let her head fall back against the wall, smiling as her body relaxed. She normally would not be awake right now but In order to keep the lie she had to leave the building to make sure even Libby thought she continued to go to class. She'd go back inside in a few minutes. She went to take another puff from her cig when she saw an old beat up pickup truck pull up into the parking lot. Her smile widened but her eyes saddened, she hadn't seen a truck like that in a long time. She closed her eyes and went back to her cigarette, and her memories.

Carl stepped out of truck. "You know those aren't good for you." He said to the young lady smoking against the building. "What's it to you?" She opened her eyes and he smirked as her face went from anger to surprise. "Carl?" Abigail didn't even wait for an answer; she just ran towards him and hugged him, nearly knocking him over in the process. "It's been forever." She said and he hugged her back. "Yea it has. " He said. "But you need to put that out now." Abbey faked a pout and dropped the smoke onto the ground, crushing it with her shoe. "Happy now?" She asked. Carl laughed. "Maybe." He looked at her. "Let's go inside now."

When Jimmy walked into Abbey's apartment, Sheen was sitting in a big chair with Libby on his lap and someone was sitting next to Abbey on the couch, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. A pang of jealousy shot through him but then he realized who this man was. "Carl?" He asked and everyone turned their heads towards him. Jimmy looked him over. His dark red hair was short but still fell in his eyes, his skin was tan and clusters of freckles had found their way onto his cheeks. Besides all of this the biggest difference was that this man was no longer the big round friend he knew the last time he'd seen him. "Is that you?" Abigail jumped up from the couch and ran to hug him. "He's back for the reunion." She said. "Isn't that great?" jimmy looked over to Carl and he could see a slight bit of regret pass through his eyes. "That _is_ great, where are you staying?" Libby interrupted. "That's just what we were talking about. He's just down the street in the old neighborhood." "This is awesome!" Sheen cried loudly, nearly making Libby fall. "The whole gang's back together!" but all but one knew someone was missing.

Cindy leaned her head against a pillow as she stared out the window from the night sky. The lights of Charlotte and every city between until Texas lit up the ground. Every once and while she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep but every time she did, all she could think of was the reunion in three day. This Friday she'd see the friends she left behind and the boyfriend she owed an explanation. She lifted her left hand, her ring finger bare. She sighed. What could she possibly tell Jimmy? How could she tell him it'd work, not after what happened. She sighed once more; she'd figured it out by Friday. Until then one thing remained clear, he couldn't hear the truth. He would never understand.

**Summer of 2004**

_ They all gathered around the kitchen table for brunch. The young girl brought the last silver tray with three white plates. Each held a different breakfast food; bacon, French toast and scrambled eggs. Other plates were already on the table with the rest of the food. He had learned that the two men were her grandfather and father. One sat at each end of the table and she pulled out the seat next to her grandfather, and the same seat that happened to be right next to him. He blushed when she curtseyed to him. Her grandfather begun to speak a prayer and he felt a nudge against his arm. He looked to see her bent over and her palms pressed together, she nodded for him to do the same. He stumbled but got into position and he heard her hold back a giggle. _


End file.
